Fighting Online Defamation

Defamation Law. Unmasking the Anonymous – How Pre-Action Discovery can Help you Fight Online Defamation

If you think someone has defamed you online, you may need to take legal action to find out who they are. Pre-action discovery is a useful tool that can help you secure evidence should you want to bring a claim against an anonymous person who has defamed you online.

It can be difficult to secure information from telecommunications companies because the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) (“the Act”) prevents disclosure of certain information about account holders making it challenging to discover the identity of the anonymous defamer.

Fighting Online Defamation via Eligible Access to Information

The good news is that when it comes to Defamation Law, according to Section 280 of the Act, telecommunication providers can disclose telecommunications information if the disclosure is required or authorised under law. It is important to note that the telecommunication information that is kept by a telecommunication company solely for the purposes of complying with their data retention obligations under the Act, remains out of reach for anyone who is not an enforcement agency.

Streeterlaw is ready to help you

You’ll be pleased to know that recently, Streeterlaw successfully secured information using the Defamation Law on behalf of our client from a telecommunication company about their account holders in relation to a slew of
anonymous defamatory emails.

If you are the victim of online defamatory attacks, we can assist you. Contact Streeterlaw lawyers on 1300 293 957, send a message to us on Facebook, or email advice@streeterlaw.com.au to find out how we can help you.

Written by Mark Streeter

The Director of Streeterlaw, Mark has been practicing Law since 1994. He has attained his Masters of Law in 1999 and in 2006 was awarded his Specialist Accreditation in Commercial Litigation. Mark is a member of ARITA, a graduate of the AICD and a member of AICM. A member of STEP, Mark enjoys working in the area of Wills and Estates. In 2020 Mark is the Chair of STEP NSW.

Call us on 02 8197 0105 to book an appointment with Mark Streeter!